Peru

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Government: On April 5, 1992, democratically
elected
President Fujimori staged military-backed self-coup,
closing
legislative and judicial branches and suspending 1979
constitution. Under 1979 constitution, executive power
vested in
president of the Republic, elected for a four-year term in
elections held every five years. If no one presidential
candidate
received an absolute majority, the first- and second-place
candidates ran in a runoff election. President could not
serve
two consecutive terms. Governed with a Council of
Ministers that
included a prime minister. Bicameral Congress had a
60-member
Senate, elected on a district basis; and a 180-member
Chamber of
Deputies directly elected by proportional representation.
Both
houses elected for terms of five years coinciding with
those of
president and vice president. Needed two-thirds vote to
override
presidential veto. Supreme Court of Justice highest
judicial
authority; twelve members nominated by president for life
terms.
At regional level, 1979 constitution mandated
establishment of
regional governments. Regionalization initiated in 1988
but
stalled in 1992. Direct elections for municipalities held
every
three years and for regions, every five years. Under
international pressure, Fujimori began transition to his
reformed
version of democracy with the establishment of the
Democratic
Constituent Congress (Congreso Constituyente
Democrático--CCD) to
serve as autonomous, single-chamber legislative body. Its
eighty
members were elected on November 22, 1992 in free and fair
elections. Nationwide municipal elections held on January
29,
1993.

Politics: Peru's multiparty system traditionally
has
had numerous political parties. Virtually unknown,
Fujimori ran
for president in 1990 as "outsider" candidate of Peru's
newest
party, Cambio '90 (Change '90). With help from business
and
informal sectors and Evangelical grassroots organizers,
Fujimori
elected overwhelmingly by electorate that had lost faith
in
established political system. Succeeded populist Alan
García
Pérez, controversial head of left-of-center American
Popular
Revolutionary Party (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria
Americana--
APRA), Peru's oldest party. Impatient with legislative and
judicial hindrance of free-market reforms, Fujimori staged
selfcoup on April 5, 1992, with full backing of armed forces,
dissolving Congress, suspending 1979 constitution, and
moving
against political opposition led by García, who, accused
of
stockpiling weapons, fled into exile.

International Relations: In 1970s Peru's leftist
military regime adopted independent, nonaligned course,
expanding
ties with communist world, particularly Soviet Union,
becoming
its largest military client in Latin America. Civilian
government
in 1980-85 deemphasized Peru's nonaligned stance and
sought
closer relationships with United States and Latin America.
Under
García, Peru reverted to antiimperialist, openly
confrontational
strategy, straining relations with international financial
community. Isolated stance on nonpayment of foreign debt,
country's economic and insurgency crises, and cholera
epidemic
strained relations with neighbors. Fujimori sought to
repair
Peru's standing in international financial community and
relations improved. Despite signing of drug accord in May
1991,
relations with United States remained strained over
Fujimori's
reluctance to increase United States and Peruvian military
efforts in eradicating coca fields and improving
government's
human rights record.

Total United States economic aid for fiscal year 1991
US$60
million, including US$50 million for balance-of-payments
support
and US$10 million for counternarcotics assistance. For
1992,
US$95 million in United States economic aid approved,
including
US$65 million for balance-of-payments support and US$30
million
for counternarcotics assistance. Most of the 1992 aid
suspended
after the self-coup on April 5, 1992. US$55 million
remained to
be disbursed in early 1993 and will comprise part of the
United
States' support group contribution. For fiscal year 1993,
US$100
million originally programmed but reduced to US$40
million,
including US$25 million for balance-of-payments support.
Release
of funds in stages contingent on government's progress in
improving human rights record. Prior to April 1992 coup,
almost
all of US$1.3 billion needed to clear arrears with IMF had
been
attained. Following coup, international community was
unwilling
to provide credit or aid until restoration of democratic
government. This attitude changed in March 1993 when Peru
cleared
its arrears.

International Agreements and Membership: Member,
Amazon
Group; Andean Group; Customs Cooperation Council; Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; Food and
Agriculture Organization; Group of Eleven; Group of
Nineteen;
Group of Twenty-Four; Group of Seventy-Seven; General
Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade; Inter-American Development Bank;
International Atomic Energy Agency; International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development; International Civil
Aviation
Organization; International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions;
International Development Association; International Fund
for
Agricultural Development; International Finance
Corporation;
International Labor Organization; IMF; International
Maritime
Satellite Organization; International Telecommunications
Satellite Organization; International Criminal Police
Organization; International Olympic Committee;
International
Organization for Migration; International Organization for
Standardization; International Telecommunications Union;
Latin
American Economic System; Latin American Integration
Association;
League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Nonaligned
Movement; Organization of American States; Agency for the
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the
Caribbean; Permanent Court of Arbitration; Rio Group;
United
Nations; United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development;
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization; United Nations Industrial Development
Organization;
United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group;
Universal
Postal Union; World Confederation of Labor; World
Federation of
Trade Unions; World Health Organization; World
Intellectual
Property Organization; World Meteorological Organization;
and
World Tourism Organization.